Tonight's rugby news as Wales star says 'school time is over' and ...

Your evening rugby headlines on Sunday, November 3.

Wales second row Will Rowlands says school time is over for Warren Gatland's team.

The Racing 92 lock has explained that it's time to get back to winning ways after a very tough year of consistent Test defeats. Rowlands missed the summer tour of Australia, as well as the game against South Africa, but has now returned to the international fold.

The addition of the 33-year-old will add some much-needed experience to Gatland's squad, along with the likes of Gareth Anscombe, Tomos Williams, Adam Beard and more.

Wales have not won a single Test match since the Rugby World Cup in 2023. However, Rowlands believes that there is light at the end of the tunnel for Cymru.

"I'm 100 per cent confident we can break the nine-game losing streak. We’ve spoken about it already in this camp," he explained to The Rugby Paper. "Since the World Cup it has been a different period for Wales with the experienced players we’ve lost, and the younger players who have come in to gain experience.

"The coaches have been brilliant in changing mindsets and creating an environment that is supportive, positive and welcoming to developing talent. But that has changed now. That was a necessary period, but now we are into the business of winning rugby matches.

"As a group, led by Gats, that was the message from day one in this camp. School time is over.

"I’ve come back into this camp really enthused and positive and that is a reflection of the environment. I’ve felt in training already that there is a hard edge underneath – the guys are aware of the challenge that lies ahead of us and it is ‘go time’."

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Wales legend George North has provided a fitness update on his return from injury.

North, who is a new signing of Provence Rugby in France, posted on X, formerly Twitter, to inform fans that he is running again. Footage from Provence's training ground shows the iconic centre back on the grass.

The 32-year-old Welshman retired from rugby during the Six Nations earlier this year. His last game was against Italy, his 121st cap, and was also unfortunately the game where he ruptured his Achilles tendon.

That was back in March, meaning that it has been a long eight months of recovery for the Llangefni RFC product.

In his social media post, North took a video of the Alter G anti-gravity treadmill, which assists players returning from injury. Instead of Alter-G, North comically attached a piece of paper with 'eorge' at the end of the 'G', personally re-naming the machine Alter George.

In his video of the equipment, North said: "Ciao, ciao, mon amis. (bye, bye, my friend)."

By Duncan Bech, PA England rugby correspondent

Marcus Smith insists England can take comfort in the career trajectories of Usain Bolt and Dan Carter as they come to terms with another near-miss against New Zealand.

George Ford, Smith’s replacement at fly-half, missed last-gasp penalty and drop-goal attempts as the All Blacks left Allianz Stadium on Saturday with a 24-22 victory.

Including their two Tests in July, England have lost three successive matches to New Zealand by a combined total of 10 points, continuing their trend of falling to narrow defeats against top-four opposition.

As they turn attention to Saturday’s appointment with Australia, Smith looks to sprint great Bolt and All Blacks star Carter as examples of how it can take time to reach the pinnacle of a sport.

“It’s not a coincidence that people win towards the end. Dan Carter played his first World Cup final at 33, sometimes it’s life,” Smith said. "Usain Bolt, in his first Olympics (2004), didn’t get out of the group stages. Now everyone admires him as a legend.

“International rugby is very different to the Premiership and the experiences we’re experiencing now are very painful, but we’ll be better for them. Keep the faith. We’ve fallen again on the wrong side of the result, but we’ll learn from it 100 per cent.

“These experiences will tighten us as a group and it will be worth it in the long run. We will be better for it.”